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I have been on my first regimen for about 3 weeks now. I am on Truvada and Kaletra. The Kaletra causes diarrhea about 2 hours after taking it. It has gotten better, but I still go to the bathroom more then I did before treatment.

One thing that has come out of going so much is my ass is chaffed something fierce. I have tried to not use as much toilet paper or use wet wipes instead, but to no avail.

Hey Pete, I work as a RN and see this problem alot in patients who have diarrhea. Zinc oxide cream is a good thing to try. It's used alot with babies and diaper rash and even older folks who are incontinent of urine and stool. It helps soothe the skin and provides a thick barrier to the skin from irritating juices/enzymes present in diarrhea. Its non prescription and can be gotten at any pharmacy over the counter.

I am doing much better but the Diarrhea is still there. 2 hours after each Kaletra dose is followed by loose movements (if not just all water). It has subsiding to only having to go once after taking the meds (instead of every 30 mins like when I first took the meds). My gut feels fine, no cramping or nausea.

I go back to my doc next week and will discuss possibly switching off the Kaletra if one of the other ARV would cause less gastric issues.

You need to up your immodium intake STAT. How many milligrams are you taking? If it saves money you can get a prescription for generic loperamide, which is just imodium but in 2mg doses instead of the 1mg you get over the counter.

Good point, Philly about the generic. Immodium is expensive (especially if you are going through like a bottle in 4-5 days)

As for milligrams..clueless. I take the little cup full after the first movement and then half a cup after every one after. There is a limit (at least on the bottle) on how much I should take so I havent been going over that. I still have a good appetite and drink a ton of water during the day (like always) so I am not concerned about that. I have noticed my urine output is lower I think because I am passing so much water through my bowel movements.

Pete, couple of things. If the Immodium is not working and you find yourself maxing out on the dose every day without any improvement ask your doctor about a prescription for Lomotil. It's the next thing up if Immodium doesn't work. Your right in noticing your urine output is down....most liking because you are passing so much fluid through the diarrhea and you're doing good about trying to replace it with water. You can become easily dehydrated and develope electrolyte imbalances with sustained diarrhea. Any dizzyness or lightheadedness, racing heart beat? especially when standing up? With diarrhea you can loose alot of electrolytes namely sodium and potassium. Drinking strictly water and loads of can cause you to drive your sodium and postassium levels even lower. Ever hear those stories of college fraternity guys drinking 2-3 gallons on water as part of their initiation and dying 24 hrs later? Well it's because they lowered their sodium and potassium levels so low their bodies could not function properly. It would be better to drink things like Gator Aid if not contra indicated by your doc or the meds your taking-not just straight water, even things like tea or diluted juices unless told not to. Gator aid will replace the fluids you're losing but it also helps replace some of the sodium and potassium as well. Also, have you ever tried to hedge off the diarrhea by taking your immodium say and hour before your meds? I'm thinking why wait for it to begin but maybe try to stop it from starting?.....just some thoughts.

Pete, have you considered Atripla? It has truvada and sustiva in it. Some people have problems with sustiva (sleep disturbances, vivid dreams, some dizziness, a rash after about 10 days that lasts for a few days) but these side effects all dissipate after a few weeks. It's not recommended for people with mood disorders or depression. But I've been on it for almost 2 years and have had practically no side effects. Once in a great while I wake up around 4 am and have trouble falling back to sleep, but I've never had any gastro-intenstinal problems with it.

Isentress is twice a day but it's excellent. If you search on here you can see lots of people's experience with it, most of it great.

I've been on Isentress/Truvada since July 2009, went undetectable in about 2 weeks or less (viral load was only 9K); my CD4s are now 686 (last time checked), when I started meds when they were about 340. I'm not experiencing any side effects at all, it really feels like I don't even have HIV; if it were not for having to take the meds twice a day to remind me, I feel totally normal and healthy.

There are also the PIs such as Reyataz and Prezista, both boosted with Norvir.

I had a wicked time with Kaletra and diarrhea. I finally switched to Truvada (plus Norvir and Lexiva) which solved the problem. Did you suffer any problems with your anus pre Kaletra? I did and had always been prescribed (what is now) Lotrimin (available OTC) or I sometimes use hydrocortisone cream but you should be aware that excessive use of the latter will thin the skin. Good luck!

Oh please missy -- try getting Explosive-D transferring to the C-train on the HoytĖSchermerhorn subway platform during a weekday evening rush hour and get back to me on that one. Unless the rest of you are 100% at the mercy of public transportation (I've not owned a car for 20 years) then you've not earned your AIDS gold stars. In fact, this happened not with Kaletra but with the even worse initial formulation of saquinavir. But I did have accidents with Kaletra, but the subway platform one was the most traumatic. The second worse one was exiting the subway, but I was just two blocks from my apartment so I was able to run before it soaked through my jeans and down my legs. I've basically had to take large amounts of anti-diarrhea medication now for almost 15 years, including a pancreatic enzyme which actually did the most good in terms of intestinal absorption.

Pete, I don't understand how someone can be unemployed and not qualify for ADAP. Something's not being done correctly by your case worker.

That's BS, I'm quite sure. But you're now in a new calendar year so you should reapply. I'm quite sure that when I went on ADAP I was laid off in June and still qualified immediately by showing proof of unemployment benefits.

I'm not on meds yet, so I don't pretend to know what you guys are going through. However, I had sensitive bowels for years--even before being poz. I was put on a beta-blocker, Atenolol, for high blood pressure due to stress this summer. Many people experience constipation on Atenolol, but it has made me pretty regular. I rarely have the hershey squirts anymore. I use to have to run to the bathroom and had accidents. Now, my poo is almost always solid.

I'm not saying everyone should go on a beta-blocker to cure diarrhea, but if you have high blood pressure and could benefit from one, it may help with the diarrhea as a benefit. Just a thought. Beta-blockers can cause fatigue--especially at first and low sex drive.